MIDDLETOWN — For an hour each Monday afternoon at the Middletown Senior Center, they forget about Parkinson's disease and just dance.

They get to be creative, laugh and make friends, while discreetly fighting their daily battle with a neurological disorder that impacts every aspect of their lives.

The Dance For PD umbrella organization was created in New York City in 2001, and Middletown has been offering dance classes since 2008. The Middletown class, which is open to both those with Parkinson's and those without, is called "Dancing For Joy" because of the profound effect it has on the participants' bodies.

Laura Richling, a trained dancer and musician, has been teaching the class since 2009. The program is administered by the Connecticut Parkinson's Working Group and the Neighborhood Music School, where Richling is a teacher.

Parkinson's is caused by a lack of dopamine in the brain that reduces a person's ability to control their movements and emotions. Dancing causes a rush of endorphins that can restore some level of control.

The free Dancing for Joy classes at the Middletown Senior Center are open to Parkinson's patients, as well as to anyone who wants to express themselves through dance.

Upbeat music triggers an endorphin release, and the dancing forces people to plan their movements ahead of time, if only just a step or two in advance. That creativity is the key, and it makes all the difference in being able to tell their body what to do.

"I've had Parkinson's for a long time and the class has helped me tremendously," said Jeffrey LaGrange, a participant in the class for eight years.

He said people with Parkinson's typically either can't stop their body from moving continuously or they can't make it move at all. They often have to make great efforts to complete small tasks, and the music and dancing does as much for him as medication.

"You have to think about picking a piece of paper up off the floor, you don't just do it," LaGrange said. "It's crazy, but if you can sing a little ditty in your head, it's easier."

Richling's class includes some choreography, where participants dance to the routine she arranges with the music she plays. It also gives significant weight to allowing the dancers to create their own movements that everyone else in the room will also perform.

"You don't think about it, you just dance," Richling said. "We are approaching our movements with a creative bent and an emphasis on the aesthetic, the beauty, the movement through space. We're figuring out how to get from here to there with grace, and maybe speed."

Dance For PD was founded in 2001 by the Brooklyn Parkinson's Group and Mark Morris Dance Group, and it is now offered in more than 100 locations in nine countries, according to danceforparkinsons.org, which also includes information on how to find a class.

Richling said the Middletown class "has nothing to do with Parkinson's disease and it has everything to do with Parkinson's."

"The essence of the class is that it's a dance class and that's really our identity and that's what distinguishes it from other offerings in the PD community," Richling said.

Participants don't think about their condition while they're dancing and they don't talk about their symptoms, she said. Instead they are planning their next step and having to be creative, which causes a chemical reaction in their bodies that alleviates their symptoms.

"Things that outwardly look easy, for us it can be very difficult," Martha Jaffe said. "We always start slow and we progress."

Jaffe, 56, of Rocky Hill, said she dances at home every day, and when she goes out walking with her husband she listens to music. Through exercise and a strict diet she can keep her symptoms from taking over her life, she said.

She has been dancing with the group for about a year and a half, and is seeing progress not only in her physical abilities but in her attitude as well. Jaffe brings vegan and organic snacks to each class and looks forward to sharing her passion for healthy cooking with the group.

She said it's easy to get depressed about not being able to easily complete mundane tasks, but the class and meeting other people facing similar challenges has helped.

"I used to get really frustrated about it, but this has helped me to put that aside," Jaffe said. "[The disease] is not really important in the grand scheme of things."

The Neighborhood Music School and the Connecticut Parkinson's Working Group offer the class, for free, in Middletown, New Haven and New London. Richling teaches the Middletown and New Haven classes, and Rachel Balaban teaches the New London group.

LaGrange, president of the Connecticut Parkinson's Working Group, said funding for teacher stipends is provided by an anonymous donor, and participants give small donations to cover the costs of supplies.

Sandy Nightingale, 68, of Higganum, attends the Middletown class weekly for the exercise and mobility improvement.

She doesn't have Parkinson's disease, but her father did, and she wants to do everything she can to stave off symptoms should she get the disease.

"It's very motivating," Nightingale said. "I wish more people would come. You feel relaxed and you can release stress."

On Friday, June 19, there will be two events in New Haven at the Iseman Theater — a Dance For PD master class with Dance For PD Director David Leventhal at 10:30 a.m. and a 12:30 p.m. screening of Dave Iverson's film on the program, "Capturing Grace."

Iverson, Leventhal and Dr. Duarte Machado, who treats neurological disorders, will lead a panel discussion on the film and on Parkinson's. Both events are free and open to the public.